Cue vs. Prompt: What’s the Difference? (And Why It Matters in Speech Therapy)
Hey SLP friends! 👋🏼
After supervising tons of grad students and CFs over the years, there’s one question that always seems to come up:
What’s the difference between a cue and a prompt?
It’s such a good question—and one that doesn’t always get the attention it deserves in grad school or PD sessions. So let’s break it down in a way that actually makes sense and can help you in your sessions tomorrow.
✨ Cue vs. Prompt: The Basics
Here’s the easiest way to think about it:
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A cue is a hint.
It nudges the student in the right direction but doesn’t tell them exactly what to do. It’s kind of like giving them a flashlight and letting them find the path. -
A prompt is direct instruction.
It shows or tells the student exactly what to do—like grabbing their hand and leading them down the path yourself.
Let’s take it outside of speech therapy for a second. Imagine this:
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You see your kid has no clean school uniforms. Instead of saying anything, you just start a load of laundry. That’s a cue.
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Your kid says, “I don’t have any clean uniforms!” and you say, “Okay, toss them in the wash and press the start button.” That’s a prompt.
See the difference? 👀
🎤 Cue vs. Prompt in Speech Therapy
Let’s put this into a therapy context—say you’re working with a student on producing the /b/ sound.
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Prompt (visual): You point to your lips and show how you put them together to make /b/.
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Prompt (verbal): You say, “Put your lips together to make the /b/ sound.”
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Cue (verbal): You say, “We’re going to practice our /b/ sound. Let’s say ‘bus’!”
With prompts, you’re actively showing or telling them how. With cues, you’re just guiding them toward the correct response.
This difference matters a lot when you're documenting progress or support levels. Writing "minimal cues" vs. "moderate prompts" in your notes communicates a very different level of independence.
🔄 Tired of the Same Old Cues and Prompts?
Let’s be honest—it’s easy to fall back on mirrors, tongue depressors, and verbal directions when we’re busy. But mixing it up can make your sessions so much more fun (and effective).
Here are some fresh, creative ideas to try out:
🎈 Sound Picture
Use imagery to build sound connections.
Have your student picture something that mimics the target sound:
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“Pretend you’re blowing up a balloon for /p/.”
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“Blow out birthday candles for /s/.”
The more personal and fun the imagery, the better the connection.
🐍 Animal Mirror
Make articulation playful with animal roleplay.
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“Be a snake and hissssss for /s/.”
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“Let’s roar like a lion for /r/.”
You’re embedding sounds into movement and pretend play—great for younger clients (and let’s face it, older ones too!).
🔁 Echo Game
Call-and-response to reinforce sounds.
You say the target word or sound, and your student immediately echoes it back. Exaggerate your mouth movements and intonation for extra impact.
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“Let’s echo the sound of ‘k’—k-k-k!”
It’s super simple but keeps the energy up!
🎭 Character Role Play
Boost expressive language with pretend play.
Have the student take on a character and speak in that role—like a chef describing how to make spaghetti or a teacher explaining the rules.
This is gold for generalizing language goals into different contexts while still having fun.
📬 Show Parents How to Cue and Prompt
Let’s talk real life: we’ve all sent home Summer Home Programs packed with fun and functional activities, only to hear back that nothing got done. 😩
Nine times out of ten, it’s because we didn’t show parents how to support their child using cues and prompts.
That’s why I created Speech Therapy Reminder Strips—a total game-changer! These quick-reference strips make it easy to send home support for articulation, language, phonology, fluency, and more. They’re print-and-go, cover 58 different targets, and give parents exactly what they need to help their child succeed.
Understanding the difference between cues and prompts can seriously level up your therapy—not just in how you work with students, but also in how you coach families and document progress.
So the next time someone asks, “Is that a cue or a prompt?”—you’ve got the answer. Better yet, you’ve got a whole toolkit of fun, functional ways to support communication development at every step of the way.
Happy speeching!
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